Is it us or was the last time we heard anything about The Black Eyed Peas’ single, “The Time (Dirty Bit)” was when it leaked. Has it even charted yet? Anyway, we really hope The Beginning isn’t a bust. But back on track, SPIN.com caught up with will.i.am where he went into detail about 4 of the new tracks from the new album:

“Do It Like This”
Like the two-part techno-funk epic “Imma Be,” the Black Eyed Peas splice together two club-ready jams into one five minute track. “Do It Like This” was months in the making. Will had left-over beats from working with Usher on “Oh My God” so he wanted to sample fans’ opinions before using them on Black Eyed Peas’ new tunes. After DJ’ing one night in Toronto, Will brought back strangers to play them his creations. “I told them, ‘Don’t be afraid to say its whack. Don’t tell me it’s cool because you’re being polite,’” says Will. “So I played them music and everybody was like, ‘Ugh!’”

Still, Will stands by the beats that make up “Do It Like This,” which has a dizzying, minimal German techno vibe. “I don’t care if you’ve shot a billion people and I don’t care if you’ve sold crack to the Pope,” says Will. “That beat is harder than any attitude or any freakin’ mug-shot face. It goes to a place no hip-hopper would go to right now.”

“XOXOXO”
The wildest song on the record, “XOXOXO” is four minutes of robotic voices, icy synths, skeletal beats and Will wooing a lady via text message with hilarious lines like “Girl, you stole my heart like a klepto / Butterflies in my stomach, need Pepto.” Will says he wanted to make something totally unlike “I Gotta Feeling,” where each member had easily-identifiable vocals. So he crafted a hook so saturated in Auto-Tune, it’s impossible to tell if it’s Will or Fergie singing on the chorus. “We wanted to use the combination of our voices, which is unique,” he says. “It’s not about who’s singing what part. A lot of times, people fall short in the studio worrying about who gets to sing which part.”

“Fashion Beats”
An undeniably catchy dance number featuring Fergie’s sex-kittenish, Debby Harry-esque vocals. The disco and funk pulse is authentic: Will cribbed a sample of Chic’s 1979 classic “My Forbidden Lover” for this tune. “Fergie’s all like, ‘Faaaaaashion!’” says Will. “It’s crazy fresh!”

“Don’t Stop the Party”
A buzzing, hot club jam that features whoosing synths and slap-funk bass grooves. Will’s lyrics are some of his funniest yet: dude manages to rap “lyricals” and “digital” with “aboriginals” and “genitals” in a thick, Caribbean patois. It’s the longest track on the album at close to six-minutes — but Will is proud enough of the song that he’d even play it for Jay-Z. “I would go to Jay’s studio and play this be like ‘Boom! Check it out!,’ says Will. “Then I go dirty Caribbean on him on the last verse.” [SOURCE]

It’s so crazy how Black Eyed Peas were so neo-funky back when they debuted in the late 90′s and now they are the definition of mainstream… We’re ready for some more of them anthems, BRING IT!